Sams Teach Yourself TCP/IP in 24 Hours (4th Edition)

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Author: Joe Casad
Format: Paperback, 456 pages
Publisher: Sams; 4th edition (September 25, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0672329964
ISBN-13: 978-0672329968

Review by James Pyles
October 19, 2008

I suppose I should say this part up front. When I agreed to review this book, I didn't realize I knew the author. I just took a quick look at the topic and said "Sure, I'll review it". Actually, it's more accurate to say that I do some writing for a publication Joe edits. I've never met Joe and haven't had the opportunity to "hang out" with him, so I guess I can't truly say that I "know" him. I do write reviews for him from time to time, so he knows how I write a review and what books I tend to look at. With that said, I hope he doesn't mind that I'm reviewing one of his books and if he knows anything about me by now, Joe knows that any book I review, I review with a sense of honesty and fairness (that means if I don't agree with something in the book, I'll say so...even if I know the person who wrote it).

The next thing I'll say is that "back in the day", I had studied for and earned a CCNA certification. I've since let it lapse because I don't do enough networking to really need the cert or to need to know all of Cisco's arcane IOS commands. I do however, remember enough about basic networking and my studies to feel quite comfortable strolling the corridors of the various TCP/IP protocols and to relate an accurate opinion of how I think Joe did on successfully teaching these topics to his audience. With all that out of the way, let the games begin.

This being a 4th edition, I suppose a significant portion of this book has already been read and reviewed quite a few times, and only certain parts have been updated for the latest technologies. This is confirmed in the Introduction section which states that there is new material in the book on "recent developments in TCP/IP" (which could be a lot of things) and "offers a closer look at topics such as..." firewalls, streaming, and web services. I wish that little blurb had nailed down the specific details regarding "recent developments in TCP/IP". I'd like to have been able to zero in on the new material presented.

I generally consider this series to be aimed at the beginner audience. That is, I'd expect the content of this book to be written for those people who know little or nothing about TCP/IP and have some reason to need to learn these concepts. Again, the front matter confirms this, though it also says that people more familiar with TCP/IP will also benefit if they'd like to get more of an inside look at these protocols. That part remains to be seen.

The general layout of the book is about what you'd expect. The first part does a basic, high level introduction to TCP/IP. The protocol system is presented next, followed by networking, utilities, and the Internet. Advanced Topics such as Web Services concludes the text. Going over the intro material in the first part of the book is like looking at a "classic". If I knew nothing about TCP/IP except a set of letters separated by a forward slash, Joe's first two chapters would take me by the hand and guide me gently along to the beginnings of "wisdom"...or at least understanding. The writing (as noted in prior reviews) is clear and concise with lots if nifty Visio diagrams. It's everything I'd expect from an introduction to this topic.

I decided to peek into "Hour 5: Subnetting and CIDR" since subnetting tends to be one of the more challenging tasks for the neophyte networking student. While the idea of subnets as classes (A, B, and C) is going "bye-bye", it is still a part of learning the nuts and bolts of basic networking, so Joe tossed it into the mix (or more accurately, left it in from prior "mixes"). Unfortunately, there's no short cut to learning subnetting. Newbies just have to face the topic head on, roll up their sleeves, and start learning. That said, there was no special magic in how Joe presented the subject. It was straightforward and complete, but not really designed to take away anyone's "math phobia" relative to learning how subnet masks work. The chapter (at least from my point of view) didn't give me enough information to make me feel comfortable in subnetting any given network. I suppose that's a lot to ask of a single hour, though (and for my money, LearnToSubnet.com is really the answer to a subnetting student's prayer). Maybe I just need to spend more time in the chapter.

The book doesn't leave very much out, I have to admit. Beyond the protocols associated with TCP/IP, basic routing, various connection methods, name resolution, DHCP, and NAT are all given their due. Since firewalls was one of the topics that's new in the book, I dropped in on "Hour 10: Firewalls" to see what was up. Naturally, I was treated to the definition for a firewall and presented with the concept of the firewall as an accessible protection tool for the average computer user. Joe teachings "Firewall Rules" using a NETGEAR Router's firewall settings interface as an example. The entire "hour" is less than ten pages long, so the introduction to firewalls is just that. Don't expect anything like an in-depth treatment. "Hour 19: Streaming and Casting" (another new topic) was equally as brief, though a welcome addition.

I moved toward the end of the book into the Advanced Topics section and sampled "Hour 20: Web Services". Since this topic is not "basic" TCP/IP, I do have to classify it as advanced, but keep in mind that with XML, SOAP, WSDL, and all, it's still just ten pages long. Just enough to shake hands and exchange names but not enough to "get a phone number" so to speak. The other "hours" in this part of the book ("The New Web", Network Intrusion" and so on) were handled in much the same way. In fact, just about every hour included in the book takes you only so far into the subject before "time runs out".

If you know little or nothing about TCP/IP and are eager to learn, I can wholeheartedly recommend Joe Casad's book. You'll learn the basics of TCP/IP and all that it means and as the cherry on top, you'll be introduced to some of the newer players in the game, such as Web Services. As far as expectations go, be prepared for a book that in very much introductory. You won't find a huge amount of depth here, but as I said at the beginning of this review, this series is very much about teaching the beginner. Once you've let Casad's text lay the foundation for you, you'll need to pursue more substantial sources to dig deeper.